Industry

In a further article in our series on Dunfermline’s Industrial Past, George Beattie writes in “James Stewart and Sons, Builders and Quarrymen” about a highly successful late Victorian stone-mason and businessman. Along with the company he founded, he was responsible for the construction of many of the town’s churches, schools, factories and banks including The Central Baths, St Margaret’s RC Church and, under his son Charles, the War Memorials and the steps at the Abbey West door.

The firm continued until 1961, by which time demand for high quality new building in stone had disappeared.

In his latest article on Dunfermline’s industrial past, John Goodall & Co Ltd, George Beattie presents the history of a firm which started in the 1860’s with a horse and carriage, grew into a leading carriage hiring business and then made a successful transition to hiring and selling motor vehicles. As always, George’s article is illustrated with a marvelous selection of historic photographs.

George Beattie continues his series on Dunfermline’s industrial and commercial past with another 20th Century history, this time of the laundry company Hills of Fife. George has included a large number of photographs and an interview, conducted in 2009, with a former employee, Jenny Ferguson, who worked for Hills between 1928 and 1942.

In “Update on Dunfermline’s Coloured Rows“, Jean Barclay provides new evidence which appears to solve the problem of the location of the long demolished Blue Row. In the mid 19th Century the Red, Black and Blue Rows were a set of streets north of the Mill Dam, mostly inhabited by workers in the textile industry.